Back pain is a common complaint among people of all ages in the United States and throughout the world. Up to 23% of all adults around the globe suffer from chronic low-back pain. This prevents many from working and puts strains on healthcare systems everywhere.
The standard treatment options often don’t offer the desired results while also posing other health risks. Surgical procedures, for example, are costly, invasive, and require extensive recovery times, which is not feasible for everyone.
Managing back pain with medications like steroids or opioids is equally problematic when it comes to long-term results.
To help alleviate the discomfort and reduce inflammation, one option to consider is chiropractic spine adjustments. Spinal adjustments offer a number of benefits without the drawbacks of other options. It’s a choice that more people are turning to lately. Learn more about chiropractic adjustments and what you can expect from the process.
What Is a Chiropractic Adjustment?
Chiro adjustments involve chiropractors using their hands or instruments to place targeted force and pressure on specific areas of the spine. The goal is to improve spinal motion and relieve pressure in spinal joints that could be impacting your mobility.
Chiropractic spine adjustments are useful for a number of conditions, including:
- Sciatica
- Neck pain
- Lower back pain
- Stiff muscles
- Frequent headaches
- Arthritis
- Sports injuries
- Disc-related issues
- Scoliosis
- Stenosis
The wide array of conditions that chiropractic spine adjustments can treat and the various techniques available make them options to consider. That’s especially the case if other treatments have not worked or if you’d prefer to avoid surgery.
Types of Chiropractic Spine Adjustment Techniques
There are a variety of chiropractic adjustments that can be helpful. Your provider will recommend specific options to address the exact issues you’re struggling with.
Diversified Technique
The diversified technique is the most common one. Chiropractors use precise and high-speed thrusts to help restore spinal alignment and improve joint function. They also help remove pressure from nerves and assist with mobility.
This technique is effective for the treatment of headaches that stem from cervical issues, lower back pain, and overall neck pain.
Spinal Mobilization
Spinal mobilization, which also goes by the name of spinal manipulation or manual therapy, is an option that chiropractors and physical therapists use. It helps reduce inflammation, relieve pressure on spinal joints, and improve how your nerves function.
Spinal mobilization is similar to the diversified technique, but it utilizes more gentle pressure and focuses significantly on stretching. It’s a good choice for the treatment of sciatica, neck pain, and lower back pain.
The Cox Technic
The Cox Technic, or the Cox Flexion-Distraction, is a chiropractic alignment technique that uses a specialized table to manipulate the spine. Its main focus is to relieve pressure on the discs, joints, and nerves. The table has a movable headpiece as well as a movable caudal piece for the tailbone area. This allows for targeted adjustments.
Using the table, your chiropractor can bend, extend, flex, and distract the spine. Spinal distractions refer to movements that gently stretch the spine to remove some of the pressure on the nerves, discs, and vertebrae.
The Cox Technic can be effective for disc herniations, facet joint syndrome, slipped discs, stenosis, and neck or arm pain. The gentle manipulations this technique utilizes lower the risks of injuries.
Thompson Drop-Table Technique
For patients who don’t respond well to forceful thrusts, this neck and back adjustment technique can be a good alternative. It utilizes a specialized table with sections that your chiropractor can drop during treatment. This table allows for a more controlled and gentler approach to chiropractic care.
To provide treatment using this technique, chiropractors conduct a full spinal analysis. It allows them to see where the problem areas are and make the necessary adjustments. The Thompson Drop-Table technique can be helpful for the treatment of lower back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain, and headaches.
The Gonstead Adjustment
The Gonstead Adjustment uses quick, focused, but gentle pressure to restore disc alignment. It’s very helpful in improving mobility. One of the reasons this technique is unique is that it encourages very specific and narrow contact points. The chiropractor can perform the treatment with the patient sitting up or lying down.
It’s a technique that is useful for those struggling with hip, back, and neck pain. It’s also effective for sciatica pain.
Benefits of Chiropractic Adjustments
There are a number of reasons why chiropractic spine adjustments are trusted alternatives to other treatments.
Non-Invasive
One of the most important benefits of chiropractic care is that these back and neck adjustments are not invasive. You don’t have to prepare for surgery, receive anesthesia, or take time off to recover.
Reduced Inflammation
When there’s a spinal misalignment, it can trigger the body’s inflammatory response because it puts pressure on nerves. This can lead to nerve irritation. Chiropractic adjustments can restore efficient function to the nervous system, allowing for a more balanced inflammatory response.
Additionally, chiropractic spine adjustments help improve blood flow to the affected areas. Blood flow brings oxygen and nutrients that promote tissue repair and overall healing.
Eases Pain Without Medications
Chiropractic adjustment benefits also include being able to address back and neck pain without medications. Painkillers can be habit-forming, and many people prefer not to rely on them.
These drugs also don’t address the underlying cause of the pain, while chiropractic adjustments do. These techniques manage this by reducing nerve compressions, restoring proper alignment, and relieving muscle tension.
Cost-Effectiveness
Undergoing surgery is expensive and might not be an option for everyone. Beyond the cost of the procedure is the need to take time off from work, which could further impact your finances. Chiropractic back adjustments are more affordable.
Improves Range of Motion
Inflammation and misalignments all result in range of motion problems. You may experience stiffness and significant accompanying pain. By reducing inflammation and improving how joints function, chiropractic care helps you move more freely.
Improves Posture
By helping restore proper spinal alignment and addressing any muscle tension issues, chiropractic adjustments can help your posture. A better posture means a more balanced body, allowing you to prevent further spinal problems.
Reduces Symptoms of Osteoarthritis
Chronic conditions like arthritis can be difficult to treat without medications because of how pervasive they are. Chiropractic adjustments, however, could deal with the underlying cause.
If you have osteoarthritis, for example, the pain comes from your joints rubbing together. By properly aligning your spine, the joints can be readjusted so that they don’t touch each other as painfully.
Some studies show that adjustments can increase blood flow to the area, too, which could slow the disease’s progression. Bringing more oxygen to the cartilage that is slowly wearing away between your joints might help delay their deterioration.
How Chiropractic Adjustments Work
When you decide that chiropractic adjustments may offer some relief, the first step is to schedule a consultation with an experienced chiropractor. This initial assessment can include imaging studies to get a clear idea of where the alignment issues are.
In some instances, the chiropractor may only perform a palpation. When doing this, they use their hands to feel for restricted or misaligned areas in your spine. Once your provider understands where the problem is, they can decide on the most appropriate techniques.
When it comes to planning an adjustment, chiropractic services providers have to create personalized treatment plans. They must consider your normal activity levels, the range of motion you have lost, and any lifestyle factors that could impact the results.
Your treatment can then begin. The first step is to position your body in a way that allows the chiropractor to access the problem areas. They’ll then apply the controlled force or thrusts, depending on the chosen treatment.
In some instances, the chiropractor will use a specialized table and adjust it throughout the process to better manipulate your spine.
Once the session is over, your chiropractor may offer tips to help you improve your posture or recommend gentle home exercises to do. They will also give you an idea of whether you need more treatments and, if so, how often you may require them. As time passes, your chiropractor may make changes to the treatment plan.
Managing Your Back Pain With Chiropractic Adjustments
If you are struggling with back or neck pain that is keeping you from living your life normally, consider chiropractic spine adjustments. At Algonquin Chiropractic Center, Dr. Galante has more than two decades of experience assisting people in the Algonquin area.
Because he grew up battling back pain himself and saw his mother and grandfather struggling with these same issues, he understands what you’re going through. Providing compassionate and dependable assistance, Dr. Galante offers the chance to break free from the back pain you’ve been under.
Contact Algonquin Chiropractic Center to schedule a free consultation.
